Parents in the UK have strong views in many cases about the way the education sector is run, what their children are taught and how this could be changed for the better. However, in many cases, their concerns are not aired with schools, and little is done to engage with those who do have opinions about how schools should be changing. 

While parents' nights are a tradition within British schools, these are more often than not a discussion simply about the progress of a child in each class, as opposed to any meaningful back and forth about directions that education could be taken. But should that change to allow parents more of a chance to influence the sector? 

According to the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, some 80 per cent of parents across the UK have strong views about the education system and how the current way of teaching should be changed to reflect the 21st century. In many cases, these parents have first hand experience and strong concerns about the way their children are taught, but simply do not have an avenue for raising it. 

The research found that the biggest concern among British parents is that their child will not be able to find a job when they leave school - something which concerns around 65 per cent of people. Meanwhile, 48.1 per cent of parents surveyed even went as far as to say that they way their child is educated leaves them stressed through worrying. 

So what do parents want to see in modern schools that would make them feel better about the education system as a whole?

According to the research, some 64 per cent of those surveyed said they would like to see better degrees of variety in what their kids are taught at school and the type of school they go to, giving them better control over the kind of education they receive. 

Similarly, more than two thirds (69 per cent) said they would like to see a choice given to parents who felt their child's talents lay in a non-academic sector. For those who have concerns about job prospects, being able to enroll their child in technical education, for example, can better prepare them for the jobs market and the future.